Heat exchange apparatus



March 22, 1932. I W,D LA MONT 1,850,281

HEAT EXCHANGE APPARATUS Filed Oct. 9, 1926 17 Sheets-Sheet l W. D. LA MONT HEAT EXCHANGE APPARATUS March A22, 1932.

Filed Oct. 9l 1926 17 Sheets-Sheet 2 lMarch 22, 1932. W, [3` LA MONT 1,850,281

HEAT EXCHANGE APPARATUS Filed oct. 9, 1926 1v Smeets-sheet 5 INVENTOR o Mz fr@ @oz/GMS A /Vo/vr ATTORNEY 5 March 22, 1932. w.' D. LA MONT HEAT EXCHANGE APPARATUS 17 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 9, 1926 INVENTOR (46u 727e ouaL/s A//a/vr ATTORNEYS March 22, 1932. v w. D LA MONT 1,850,281

HEAT EXCHANGE APPARATUS Filed Oct. 9, 1926 17 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR Mun-R dmms A/Yv/w Z/4 ATTORNEYS March 22, 1932.

W. DA LA MONT HEAT EXCHANGE APPARATUS Filed OCC- 9. 1926 17 Sheets-Sheet 7 C C C CC,..CC\CCCC CCC C C CCC CC C WN ATTORNEY5 March 22, 1932. wl D. A MONT 1,850,281

HEAT EXCHANGE APPARATUS Filed Oct. 9. 1926 17 Sheets-Sheet 8 ATTORNEYS March 22, 1932. W` D LA MONT 1,850,281

HEAT EXCHANGE APPARATUS Filed 0st. 9, 1926 17 Sheets-Sheet 10 lNvENToR 4444727? 00am/.As 4M/vr ATTORNEYS March 22, 1932. w, D. LA MONT 1,850,281

HEAT EXCHANGE APPARATUS ATTORNEYS March 22, 1932. W11)q LA MONT 1,850,281

y HEAT EXCHANGE APPARATUS Filed Oct. 9, 1926 17 Slfxeets-Shee'rl 15' uw 0R ML75@ 0005015 /V/vr MyW/avv ATTORNEYS March 22, 1932. w. D LA MQNT 1,850,281

HEAT EXCHANGE APPARATUS Filed Oct. 9. 1925 17 Sheets-Sheet 14 INVENTOR MUR 0006015 f1/70W Patented Mar. 22,-' 1932 .UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WALTER DOUGLAS LA MONT, F I.'AIR.CHMON'J.,` NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR T0 LA IMION'J.` CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK HEAT EXCHANGE .arrARATUs Application. led October 9,

This invention relates to steam and other vapor generators and heat exchangers and more particularly to improved steam generators of the type described in my prior Patent No.1,545,668, and m co-.pending application,

Serial No. 32,064, led May 22, 1925. The

` invention also' includes improvements in the combination of steam generators with various waste heat sources such as water gas generators and the like.

In my'pri'r Patent No. 1,545,668 and 1n my i prior application above referred to, I have described generators 1n whlch Water is circugases.

lated through a number of long small diame- "1 ter ftubes forming a ilm on the inner walls thereof. In the constructions above referred to the tubes are connected to a series of'headers vvhichare then joined to one or more distributors.4 The connections shown are by orlwith-respect to the gas passage that the headers are carried outside of the zone of high heat and the tubes are fastened to the headers by expanding therein, the headers themselves being connected to the distributors by nipples or short pipe lengths also fastened byexpanding. In .this construction the headers are subjected to a minimum of expansion and contraction as they are not exposed to'thia main heat of the heating gases and there are no-t-hreaded joints to become loose.

Owing to the high rate of speedwith which the relatively small amounts' of water flowthrough the tubes there is practically no tendency to scale formation as any solids precipitated are at-once swept on by the rapid flow of water and steam. I have found that these solids can be removed by passing through a.

' suitable strainer in they 'circuit outside of the constitutesan additional feature ofmthe presl,

ent invention..

` gases around an 1928. Serial No. 140,665.

As the amount of water in the tubes is comparatively small, it is necessary to provide for reliable means to prevent the tubes from running dry. It is one of the features of the present invention that a control device is associated with the upper distributor pipe or pipes in such a manner as to prevent water deficiency in any bf the headers and also serves as a warning indicator.

In the more specific embodiment of the present invention in which the generator is associated with a source of Waste heat, the present invention includes important advantages in generator structure and in the arrangement of gas travel. I have found that excellent results can be obtained by introducing the hot gases at an angle'to the generating tubes at the bottom thereof, but above the lower headers and suitably arranging the inlet gas passage so as to produce an easy bend and gas entrance. The structure of the generavtor can be simplified and particularly the over-all height of the installation canbe reduced by causing the heating gases to enter at an angle to the tubes'. This is an important with very long generator tubes, being from to 30 feet long in the average installation.

In order to obtain high heat transfer eiliciencies it is desirable to use high 'gas velocities and this inturn necessitates close spacing '75. advantage since the best results are obtained of the tubes.' I have found that draft losses can be greatly minimized when the heating gases enter at an angle tofthe tubes b increasing the area of the face or faces o the tube bundle, which are presented to the incoming gas. In the preferred embodiment the tube undle which may' advantageously consist of a series 'of substantially parallel vtrays of tubes,"is of rectangular shape and is so arranged that it presents a corner to the entering gases so that the side area of the tube bundle presented to Vthe gas is considerably greater than the cross section of the gasI passage. Similar results may be obtained by so arranging the gas passages as to cause the gas to enter the tube bundle from several directions. -Vhile the invention in its broader as- 'pects is not limited to the entrance of the angle of the tube bundle, A

` full occupy the gas pass the distributor.

'to compensate for unequal invention per se ples into the distributing I have found that this construction lends itself excellently to compact and simple generator construction and constitutes the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Expansion of the long small tubes mustbe provided for and I have found that a very satisfactory structure can be produced by supporting the bottom of the tubes and permitting the upper ends to expand and contract freely, the supports for the bottom of the tubes being provided with suitable fastenings which permit limited lateral motion expansion of the tubes and the supporting structure. By supporting the tubes at their bottom ends, a heavy shell structure is avoided and the shell can be supported by light columns or may even in some cases be self-supporting. very light and economical shell structurecan be produced and it is possible as shown in the preferred embodiments of the invention, to provide for a door opening the full height of the shell so that individual trays of tubes, that is to say, an upper header, low-er header and the connecting tubes, insertedxbodily, making repairs or replacements a very simple matter and greatly decreasing the labor costs.- These features of door and shell construction will be described in greater detail in connection with the drawings and constitute specific lfeatures of the invention.

Preferably, the gas passage should be decreased progr-essively in order to compensate :for the shrinkage in volume of the heating gases as they are cooled in passing over the generating tubes. The arrangement of tubes is also preferably vsuch that they at all times alge and are uniformly istributed therem. do not claim this proportioning of gas passage in the present apart from the other structural features as this forms the subject-matter of the co-pending application of myself and Alfred F. Ernst, Serial No. 140,099, filed October?, 1926.

The expanded connections ofthe tubes into the upper headers and the upper header nip- 'ipes make it necessary to cut the nipple w en a tray is to be removed and of course the closing plug opposite the nipple will usually be .knocked'into In order to make it possi* ble to effect re airs without extensive dismantling, I pre referred to, I describe vertical steam separat- .ing chambers or pots for separating the steam and water discharged from the bottom headers. I have found that a more eifective sepa- A tors.

can be removed or generator shown in Fig. 1;

erably provide the upper distributor pipe with a flan ed openin` at the ration and a more reliable operation can be achieved by providing a plurality of horizontal steam separating chambers located below the boiler and of larger size .than the pots described in my application above referred to. These separating chambers may also preferably be`provided with suitable baiiies and inlet pipe arrangement to enhance the efficiency of steam separation.

In its preferred embodiment, my invention also includes other structural features such as detachable supports for the upper headers and easily demountable supporting means for the upper distributoc and the like. The invention also includes an improved type of expansion plug for closing expander tool openin sin the various headers and distributher and further features of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing detailed description taken in connection with the drawings, in Which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a steam generator embodying the present invention, this ligure showing the generator connected to a source ofwaste lheat such as the superheater of a gas generating set;

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the steam Figure 3 is a vertical section through the heat chamber of the steam generator of the present invention illustrating the arrange ment of the banks or trays of steam generating tubes, thisviewalso illustrating the-arrangement of the heat insulationrin the heat chamber;

Figure 4 is a detail section showing the manner of the connection of the steam generating tubes `to the supply and collecting head1 l ment of the generating tubes with respect to each other at the upper end of the generator; y

Figure 8 is a section on the line 8,-8 of Figure 1 showing the spacing" and arrangement of the tubes at the lower end of the heat chamber;

Figure 9 is a detail showing the manner of. locking the door or doors of the casing in closed position; r

Figure 10 is a view, substantially in front elevation, of a modified arrangement of collecting pot, steam separator, water level con- .trol and associated parts; A

. Figure 11 is a side elevation of the arrangement shown in Figure 10;

Figure 12 is a sectional detail showing the lll manner of connecting the supply headers 4to the supply manifold;

Figure 13 is a sectional detail showing the manner of connecting the collecting headers to the collecting pot;

Figure 14 is an enlarged detail elevation of the strainers and the connections thereto permitting their alternate use and convenient cleaning, and p Figure 15 isa side elevation of the structure shown in Figure 14;

Figure 16 is a section along the line 16-16 of Figure 18 showing bracing of the shell;

Figure 17 is a vertical section along the line 17-17 of Figure 16;

Figure 18 is a section through the shell of a generator on a larger scale than Figure l;

Figure 19 is a detail elevation of a door hinge; V

Figure 20 is a section through the upper header supporting means;

Figure 21 is a plan view of the header supporting means shown in F'igure 20;

Figure 22 is a side elevation partly broken away of the header supporting structure;

Figure 23 is an elevati-on showing a modified header and manifold construction;

Figures 24 and 25 are side elevations partly in section of upper headers and distributor manifold and lower headers and collec-- tor manifold respectively;

Figures 26 and 27 are detail elevations of the drum baiies shown in Figure 5; y

g Figure 28 is a detail elevation partly in section of a header and generating tubes showing orifice tube construction and connections witli the distributor manifold;

Figures 29 vand -30 are sections along the I lines`29-2`9 and 30,-30 respectively of Figure 28;

Figure 31 is an elevation partly in section of the end of a header o posite to the collector manifold showing ori ce tube constrliction; `Figure 32 is a verticalsection along the line 32-32 of Figure 31;

vFigure 33 is a detailed vertical section through a modified type ofnheader and orifice tube construction; Figu/re 34l is a' vertical section along the line 34-34 of Figure 33;

Figure 35 is a vertical sectionthrough another modification of header and orifice construction; f

Figure 36 is a section along the line 36-36 of Figure 1, showing tlie construction of inlet baflies;

Figure 37 is a phantom elevation of the inlet baffles; y

Figure 38 is a detail of the baiiie frame fastening;

Figure 39 is a detail of a baie on a larger scale;

Figure 40 is an elevation of the support'for the generator tubes;

Figure 41 is a detailed section along the line 41-41 of Figure 40, and l Figure 42 is a horizontal section along the line 42-42 of Figure 40.

Figure 43 is a vertical section through another modied header and orifice tube. Fig. 44 is a detail.

The steam generator of the present invention being of comparatively light 'construction and containing only a comparatively small quantity of water at any one time, re- 4 quires only a comparativelydight framework for its support, and in the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the su porting framework comprises a ring 2 of c annel section 1 supported upon legs 4, 6 and 8 of I section. Supported upon the ring 2 is a second ring 9 having attachedto its inner face or web vertical supports or columns 10, 12, 14 of I section. The column 10, preferably extending almost to the upper end of the casing 16, furnishes support for the hinges 18 of the door 20. It is not essential for the other two coli umns 12 and 14 to extend as far up the Casin 16 as the column 10 and they may exten only about half way up said casing.

The casing 16 comprises a cylindrical steel shell, open in one quadrant to expose all of the trays or banks of generating tubes and to permit the ready removalof any bank or tra-y, this openino' being closed by the door 20 here-A inabove refarred to. The casing' 16 constitutes merely a covering for the steam generator, the parts of the generator proper being supported upon the framework hereinabove described and therefore the casing 16 can be of comparatively light construction,

since, Withthe exception.- of the valve at its upper end, to be hereinafter described, its

supports substantially none of the operating 135 (Figures 16, 17 and 18). The metal shell itself is braced with a circumferential angle 136 having a door portion 137, and, the ends. of-the angles 132, 133, 134 and 135 are fas,- tened to this ring and serve as additional braces for the metal shell aswell as reinforcing the insulation 22 and the refractory lining 130. The angles 132 and 133 are substantially straight and form with the shell 16. braced segments. The angles 134 and 135 are not straight and serve to dene the door and door seat. The arrangement of bracing illus- 

